More All-Star rant

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New Member

I'm starting this so we can all air our grievances over the short-sightedness of the vast majority of Major League Baseball fans. I'll start.

We've got three Royals position players that the fans ought to be voting, if not into a starting position, at the very least into the top three among positional players, and at least two pitchers if not more that John Farrell ought to take.

Five outfielders in the American League have more HR than Alex Gordon while still matching his RBI and batting average totals. He leads all AL outfielders with 23 doubles and he's eleventh in RBIs. Solid numbers that, because KC’s offense is average in the league, Gordo leads his team in HR and RBI.

Offensive production isn't what it's all about, though. What sets him apart is his not just his steady offense but also his awesome defense. Gordon’s six outfield assists through the first half tie him with Lorenzo Cain -- another Royal -- and others for fifth in the AL. That total comes after three-plus years of Gordo playing left field and proving that nobody should try to run on him.

Then there is Royals catcher Salvador Perez. He's hitting .290 and other AL teams have just flat stopped trying to run on him, and when they do, they lose. He's the number two catcher in fantasy leagues around the nation, and Perez has hit .290/.338/.452 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI in 290 at-bats through last night (Friday) but he's no where near the top five AL catchers in All-Star voting.

Let's talk about SS Alcedes Escobar. In short, he is the most underrated shortstop in MLB. He's hitting .353 over the last ten games and is at 294/.334/.408 with 28 RBIs and has even hit a grand slam this year. Defensively you'd be hard pressed to find a better shortstop anywhere.

Wade Davis, late setup guy, and Greg Holland, closer for KC. This duo is nothing short of awesome. Davis usually sets up Holland for save opportunities, or closes the game when it's not a save situation. He's pitched 36.2 innings this year and has 58 strikeouts, only 16 walks while allowing only five runs. He's got a 1.23 ERA with a WHIP of 0.83. Holland is just nasty. He's 23/24 in save opportunities, a 0.96 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He throws a "splider" whatever that is ... no one has been able to figure it out.

We've also go a trio of great young starters in Yordano Ventura, Jason Vargas and Danny Duffy. These guys would be a terrible combination to face back-to-back-to-back, but we also throw James Shields in the midst of them, and Jeremy Guthrie ain't no trash thrower either, though he and Shields have struggled some lately.

So OK, your turn. Who isn't winning the All-Star balloting that just grates your teeth together at night?

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Well-Known Member

Hard to argue against your picks of Perez, Escobar, and Holland. Holland is the best closer most people have never heard about. I wouldn't care to see Alex Gordon in the All Star Game. He is the best defensive LF in the AL but that's not what gets you to be an All Star. And yes, offensive production is what corner outfielders are for, not defensive prowess.

Rant and picks follow.

Derek Jeter. Really? Yes, he's a great player and a nice guy and all that, but he's been here plenty of times. Move over Derek and give someone else a shot. If not Escobar then the White Sox Alexi Ramirez.

Matt Wieters. He's out for the rest of the season (I think) after Tommy John surgery. He's leading all AL catchers in voting and he can't play in the game. This is a travesty. Salvador Perez should be the starter and (surprise) Kurt Suzuki of the Twins is having a career year and should be considered.

Todd Frazier should be starting at 3B in the NL over Aramis Ramirez. He leads the NL in HR and OPS at his position.

Speaking of 3B, Josh Donaldson is leading the votes in the AL. He's an exciting, young player, but c'mon Adrian Beltre's BA is 90 points higher and his OPS is almost 120 points higher, plus he's better defensively. Start Beltre and let Donaldson back him up.

Others...

Miguel Cabrera (14 HR, OPS of .918) is the leading vote getter at 1B in the AL but Edwin Encarnacion needs to be in this game (26 HR, OPS of .962). So does Jose Abreu (27 HR, OPS of .959) Encarnacion deserves to be in this game as does Abreu and Cabrera.

Michael Brantley of the Indians deserves to be in this game. He is batting .314 and leads all offensive categories for the Indians. Nelson Cruz seems to be the DH, but if not he should be starting in LF. He's got 26 HR. Either of these guys are more deserving than Alex Gordon in LF.

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New Member

I agree with all of that, ITL. Even though Ventura stymied Brantley last night, his defense is great and he normally snaps the ball all over the field, no matter what pitch gets thrown. Encarnacion and Abreu should both be there, and there's no doubt Miggy is one of the best all-around hitters in the game. And, yeah, Jeter, sit down. The only reason you're leading the voting is because you're quitting the game. And it isn't just Frazier in the NL that's getting the short end of the stick. That whole starting lineup is going to be messed up because fans are dummies.

Wieters leading the catcher vote is crazy and not just because he's hurt. Perez is just a better player. You named him as the #2 catcher in fantasy, but, considering where you can get him vs. where you have to take Posey (I assume you have Posey as #1), Perez is a far better value and better value spells better fantasy player for my team. Anyway, the Wieters vote is bad, but the Jeter vote isn't, because Jeter's a star. And, surprisingly, his numbers aren't that bad. There's room to debate Donaldson vs. Beltre, but, there was a time this season when Donaldson was carrying the team.

Honestly, I was surprised by the voting numbers. For years, all we ever seem to hear is how fans are dummies and get the ASG voting wrong. We hear it so often we start to believe it. But, it's not really true this year, as the only really indefensible vote is the Wieters one.

InTheLight, you mentioned some guys that should be in the game, and I agree with you on all of them, but that's not really the premise of the OP. The premise of the OP is that the fan vote is wrong and I think the results show quite the opposite.

I think we hear the statement made that the fans get it wrong every year so much that we start to believe it instead of analyzing who's actually getting those votes. Other than a couple of minor quibbles (and an egregious mistake), I think baseball fans are getting the starters right.

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<img src =/curtis.gif>

I think since there's now a definite stake in the outcome of the game, the manager should have more discretion. The "every team needs to be represented" is horse hockey. Weakens the team tremendously. Next they'll be letting girls play.

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Well-Known Member

Jeter's farewell tour is preventing Escobar from playing in the AS Game. His OPS this year is 170 points lower than his career OPS and 80 points lower than Escobar's.

Jonathan Lucroy should have been the NL's starting catcher. Molina is a great player but Lucroy is having a fabulous year.

Molina: .292/.347/.414
Lucroy: .329/.397/.516

I hope Justin Morneau of the Rockies (former Twin) is voted in as the last player on the NL. He has finally fully recovered from the concussion he suffered in 2010, six days before he would have played in the AS Game. Just look at the gaudy numbers he was putting up that year. This was at the 81 game mark, or exactly half the season:

.345/.437/.618 (yes slugging .618), so OPS of 1.055, with 18 HRs
This is the line of another MVP award.

This year he is .316/.348/.518 with 13 HRs.

It would be fun to see the Twins' Glen Perkins face former teammate Morneau in the AS Game at Target Field.

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Active Member

Derek Jeter. Really? Yes, he's a great player and a nice guy and all that, but he's been here plenty of times. Move over Derek and give someone else a shot. If not Escobar then the White Sox Alexi Ramirez.

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ITL, I just took you off my Christmas card list. Mr. Jeter will move over in a few months and make room for all the inferior short stops to make the team. Starting next year any old ball player can have a shot; just not this year.

Jeter's farewell tour is preventing Escobar from playing in the AS Game.

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Well-Known Member

I heard the Yankees were considering putting a statue of Jeter at the SS position. Then, they realized they already have a statue of Jeter at that position.

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Ha ha. Funny how he's supposed to not have much range but he seems to make great plays quite frequently, and in important situations. Given all shortstops over the past 25 years or so, I'd only take Ripken over Jeter.

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Well-Known Member

With the AS Game in Minneapolis, I was going to take my two teenaged sons to some of the festivities. Turns out that in order to go to the Futures Game, the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game itself, you needed to purchase a strip of tickets to all events. There is no ala carte purchasing of events. (This is typical of playoff series', like the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series.) Season ticket holders get priority. Major League baseball buys 12,000 tickets strips for themselves to distribute/sell to favored people and/or corporations.

There is a secondary market for tickets. Many people that bought the entire strip of tickets to all events are piecing them out to ticket brokers to sell to individuals, i.e. Stub Hub. OK, let's go to the Home Run Derby! Well, tickets in seats that would potentially have a home run ball land in them are starting at $300 each. So I could go to the Home Run Derby for $900. Don't need to sit in seats where a home run ball might land? OK, those seats start at $200. There are no "bad" seats at Target Field, but if I select the furthest section from home plate, upper deck down the left field line, I could get tickets for $194.50 each.

How about Fan Fest, which is being held in the Minneapolis Convention Center? This is mainly geared towards children, but there are interesting things for adults too. Tickets are $35 each.

I'm not going to any festivities and I love baseball. I just can't see forking out over $100, likely $150 when parking, food, and souviners are considered.

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